The Bulldog Drummond franchise was a busy one with nine films in the three years from 1937 to 1939. They generally followed a thematic line, one of those being the theft of a newly invented device that might prove useful to enemy hands. In "Bulldog Drummond's Revenge", the gizmo in question is an explosive powder called 'haxonite', presumably named after it's inventor Sir Hohn Haxton (Matthew Boulton). The powder is rather tricky and unpredictable, but it's theorized that enough of the crystals could blow London to bits.
In very quick order, Haxton's traitorous butler Draven Nogais (Frank Puglia) murders the inventor aboard a plane flight, and parachutes himself and the device away from the doomed airplane. The coincidences necessary to make the film proceed are extraordinary, as Drummond and his sidekicks Algy and Tenny (Reginald Denny, E.E.Clive) recover the suitcase with the explosives, which conveniently falls on the road they're traveling. Back at Rockingham Lodge, the suitcase in turn is stolen by the bad guys during the old lights out trick, prompting a London to Dover escapade that have the heroes and villains trading the advantage before Drummond's team makes the save for Scotland Yard.
As ever, Drummond's fiancée Phyllis Clavering (Louise Campbell) is left to wonder whether the wedding will ever take place, as it's constantly being interrupted by some nefarious plot or another. This time around, Miss Clavering receives consolation from Algy's wife Gwen (Nydia Westman), the first time Mrs. Longworth is introduced into the filmography. The movie gets some mileage out of a rather gruesome plot device, a severed hand from Sir Haxton's plane crash. The girls do a double faint when the hand is revealed in the commotion at Rockingham when the suitcase is stolen.
Rounding out the cast is John Barrymore as Colonel Nielson of Scotland Yard; he once again gets top billing over John Howard's Drummond, as he did in their prior film "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back". Barrymore's manner is sophisticated and professional, unlike the roles assigned to the lead authority in films of the Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong series of the same era. The comic relief as it were is left to Algy for the physical slapstick, and Tenny for the cerebral. Tenny's best deadpan line occurs early when Drummond comments on how much fun getting married ought to be; the response - "It's a popular belief Sir."
With the case solved and the explosive powder back in safekeeping, the anticipated Drummond/Clavering wedding plans seem to be on track to survive some more adventures, and it will take a few more films to get there. There does seem to be some semblance of continuity to the development of the characters, so watching the series in the order of release is helpful to keep track of things. The movies offer a nice balance of mystery and comedy and thankfully don't take themselves too seriously.
In very quick order, Haxton's traitorous butler Draven Nogais (Frank Puglia) murders the inventor aboard a plane flight, and parachutes himself and the device away from the doomed airplane. The coincidences necessary to make the film proceed are extraordinary, as Drummond and his sidekicks Algy and Tenny (Reginald Denny, E.E.Clive) recover the suitcase with the explosives, which conveniently falls on the road they're traveling. Back at Rockingham Lodge, the suitcase in turn is stolen by the bad guys during the old lights out trick, prompting a London to Dover escapade that have the heroes and villains trading the advantage before Drummond's team makes the save for Scotland Yard.
As ever, Drummond's fiancée Phyllis Clavering (Louise Campbell) is left to wonder whether the wedding will ever take place, as it's constantly being interrupted by some nefarious plot or another. This time around, Miss Clavering receives consolation from Algy's wife Gwen (Nydia Westman), the first time Mrs. Longworth is introduced into the filmography. The movie gets some mileage out of a rather gruesome plot device, a severed hand from Sir Haxton's plane crash. The girls do a double faint when the hand is revealed in the commotion at Rockingham when the suitcase is stolen.
Rounding out the cast is John Barrymore as Colonel Nielson of Scotland Yard; he once again gets top billing over John Howard's Drummond, as he did in their prior film "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back". Barrymore's manner is sophisticated and professional, unlike the roles assigned to the lead authority in films of the Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong series of the same era. The comic relief as it were is left to Algy for the physical slapstick, and Tenny for the cerebral. Tenny's best deadpan line occurs early when Drummond comments on how much fun getting married ought to be; the response - "It's a popular belief Sir."
With the case solved and the explosive powder back in safekeeping, the anticipated Drummond/Clavering wedding plans seem to be on track to survive some more adventures, and it will take a few more films to get there. There does seem to be some semblance of continuity to the development of the characters, so watching the series in the order of release is helpful to keep track of things. The movies offer a nice balance of mystery and comedy and thankfully don't take themselves too seriously.